T: Light malt and an earthy funkiness open. Traces of fruit lurk in the background with a hint of sweetness. Noble-type hop bitterness builds to a mostly dry, but not exactly clean, finish. Light alcohol presence at 7% ABV.

M: Moderate carbonation with a medium body. A bit syrupy on the palate.

O: Not expressly bad, but this one just didn't resonate with me. A bit anemic in the hop department and the funk factor seemed dominant. Somewhat unique among Belgian pale ales, I suppose, but felt a bit heavy and unrefined.

Nothing special about this beer. It looks great but lacks character and depth for the style, and the appeal fades as the smell, taste and feel come into play. Perhaps this just wasn't one of their better years...

I've been on a bit of a Goose Island kick recently, and I'm not sure why, but I will say that it's about time that I've gotten around to a few of their beers that I should have had a long time ago. This is one of those beers.

This beer pours an amber hue that is on the hazy side of cloudy and sports very minimal carbonation. The head is white and frothy, dissipating slowly to a thin lacing with a neck. 4.25/5 The aroma is full of malt and fruit with a good dose of rich caramel and rye bread along with Belgian candi sugar and fruity, yeasty esters. The aroma also reminds me of raspberries and strawberries, with just a hint of sour cherries. 4/5 The flavor profile is nice and strong with a heavy lean towards the malt instead of hoppy. There is a good amount of caramel and rye bread up front along with Belgian candi sugar, coriander, white pepper, and clove. The spices come out very nicely in this beer and play off of the sweetness of the malt. The hops really don't seem to add much, rather preferring to act as an earthy undertone for the spices and sweetness to build from. Bitterness is light and does not linger after swallowing. A very slight bit of sourness comes through due to the Brett in the aging process, but it's not very strong. 3.75/5 This is a medium bodied beer that is a bit dry a very light lingering dryness but the dryness is not parching. Carbonation is minimal. 4/5 This is definitely a full flavored Belgian Pale Ale.

Aroma- the slightest bit of a Belgian ale. as in light clove and banana. has a musky basement smell. not great but not absolutely terrible.

Taste- light doughy character. very light clove and banana notes. abv is well hidden. like the smell but drop that moldy basement smell.

Mouthfeel- solid medium bodied. good carbonation. feels a bit bubbly like champagne. don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

Drinkability- on #three of the four pack right now and easily gonna kill the four pack. prolly last four pack of this I buy tho.

Overall- I don't know how I didn't review this beer before the inbev/ bud buyout. from what I recollect of the pre-sellout this brew use to be much lighter. almost like a mini trippel with some hoppy action. i'm sure they'll prolly say this beer is brewed the same as last time I had this ( multiple four packs of 2007 and 2008) and i'll say ok. .. this brew is more of a mess. it seems like the malt and the hops are battling and the yeast comes in and makes everything worse. not a drain pour don't get me wrong just a sloppy brew.

Bottle dated 07NOV16 into pint glass. Pours a clear honey-amber color with a fine white head. Initial impression is a very clean, slightly sweet Belgian, with up-front citrus and hints of banana and clove. Mouthfeel is medium, as is carbonation. Finish is slightly bitter, but refreshing. I'm not a big fan of Belgian beers, but this was one of the better ones (at least in my admittedly skewed opinion).

This one has a pretty supreme balance of Belgian yeast (mine was quite carbonated and bready!) and biscuity American ale. Something about this makes me want to reference champagne, but that could just be the bottle type. I do feel confident in saying that this is a crispity, crunchity, refreshing part of a well-balanced brew sesh. I mean seriously, this could be a wedding beer. Very elegant and smooth.